Iconic yummy-smelling things retailer Lush is showing support for Te Tiriti by creating a soap that raises money for grassroots charity ActionStation.
The launch comes after a powerful hikoi across Aotearoa protested the ACT Party’s controversial ‘Treaty Principles Bill’. A petition against the bill has over 296,000 signatures after a nationwide outcry.
All of the profits from the Te Tiriti soap will go towards ActionStation’s Te Tiriti Justice program "to fund ongoing campaigning". If all soaps are sold, the total donation will be over NZD $8,000. Lush will also encourage customers to sign the Ngāti Whakaue, Rangatahi-led petition on their storefronts across New Zealand.
ActionStation's director Kassie Hartendorp (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) said in a press release: "Te Tiriti o Waitangi is about all of us. It offers us a positive vision of how we can live together in peace and mutual benefit."
"Right now, the ACT Party is trying to break that agreement, and rewrite the Treaty Principles according to their own opinions. It's destructive and disrespectful to everyone who has moved this country forward on release Treaty issues.
It's now up to all of us to show that we value Te Tiriti o Waitangi and can find a way forward together.
Lush has “been actively campaigning for social justice since their inception in 1995”. The brand also launched a ‘Watermelon Slice’ soap to support "childhood mental health services in Palestine" amid the ongoing devastation in the Middle East.
The Te Tiriti soap is black, white, and red - the colours of the Tino Rangatiratanga flag with the logo designed by Extended Whānau graphic design studio.
The scent is described as fresh and lemony with coconut oil, so you can smell delish while fighting for an epic cause - and they're only $13 each.
